Monday Morning Chemistry
by F.J.Ward
Summary: Just a random Teencast idea I came up with whilst walking to school this morning. Why not give it a read?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This came out of nowhere and into my head, so I thought 'Why the hell not' and wrote it up. What you see before you is the finished product - let me know what you think! I may write more to this, I don't know, depends on whether people like it. Whatever.**

Ugh. I hate Mondays, but this was worse than usual - whose idea was it to have science first thing? As I walked into Chemistry, I heard Mr. Ridge calling out names. He was partnering us off for some big project. I prayed that he wouldn't pair me with either Sips or Sjin; those two annoy the hell out of me. Dumping my bag on the floor, I sat heavily on my lab stool to wait for my name to be called.

"Xephos, take your stuff to Lalna's desk. You'll be with him for this project." Well, I thought. It could have been worse. I didn't usually hang around with Lalna that much, but everyone knew the guy was ace at science.

"Hey, man." I greeted as I sat to his right.

"Hi," he replied, not looking up from whatever he was doodling on his hand. Raising an eyebrow, I sat down as sir started handing out worksheets. I felt kind of awkward; all the other pairs were talking to one another, but Lalna was completely ignoring me. Resting my chin in my hand and my elbow on the desk, I tried to convince my brain to work - I couldn't remember half of what this stuff meant. I let out a frustrated noise, and the boy beside me chuckled quietly. Subtly, I peered over his shoulder, and saw that he was already three quarters finished. "Oh, shut up," I muttered. He just shook his head, smiled, then scribbled one final answer. He swapped his Biro to his left hand and began to tap it on the desk. Did he know how irritating he was? Probably, judging by his smirk. Grimacing, I turned my attention back to the work in front of me. I had only managed to answer one question when Lalna's knee touched mine, and I was fairly sure it wasn't accidental. What's wrong with him? I thought. Trying to ignore him as best I could, I resumed staring at the questions. However, it's very difficult to ignore someone when their hand starts making its way up your thigh, then stroking back down, only to return again.

"Lalna?" I asked with mock-sweetness.  
"Hmm?" He replied nonchalantly.  
"I would really appreciate it if you stopped feeling up my leg and let me get on with the work," I said, dropping all pretences - I was _really_ not in the mood for pissing around. But despite the acid in my voice, the boy just snickered and carried on. I gritted my teeth, and wrote down an answer. He looked over my shoulder at my sheet and tutted.  
"What?" I snapped at him.  
"Most of these are wrong. Here, copy what I've got." Lalna slid his paper across the desk towards me, but I took no notice.  
"Thanks, but no thanks. And besides, I can't even read your writing!"  
"That's ok. I'll tell you what the answers are."  
"For the last time, Lalna, I don't-" I turned my head to look at him, but he was a lot closer than I imagined. All I saw was a grin flash across his lips before they were upon mine. The hand on my leg slid up to grab my hip, threatening to go further. When I registered the fact that I was kissing a boy in the middle of a chemistry lab with twenty other students surrounding me, I grabbed the blond by the shoulders and shoved him roughly off me. Standing up, I grabbed my bag, knocking the stool over in the process. Before anyone could tell me otherwise I was out of the lab, the door was swinging shut behind me. The last thing I heard was Lalna laughing as I strode swiftly down the corridor. There was only one thought running through my mind at that moment.  
Revenge.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Back due to (somewhat) popular demand, here it is! There will be more in the near future, I promise. Anyway, you know the drill - read, enjoy, review!**

By Monday afternoon, almost the entire school knew about what happened in Chemistry. By Wednesday, I had my revenge all planned out and ready for execution. I hadn't told anyone about it, not even Honeydew - I couldn't afford for this to go wrong. I bided my time until the bell rang, signalling the start of lunch. I ran out of English; Lalna was in a different class than me and I wanted to catch him before he disappeared. "Lalna, you bastard! Where are you?" I yelled, scanning the crowded corridor for the blond. I spotted him easily - being a head taller than most has its advantages. Battling my way towards him, satchel swinging madly behind me, people parted into a circle in which I stood. Lalna stepped just into the edge of the space, curiosity plain on his face.  
"What's the matter, Xeph?"  
I made a disgusted noise. "Don't 'Xeph' me, you dick! I can't believe you could do that and expect me to be okay!"  
Now he was confused. "What did I do?" He asked worriedly.  
"Oh, you know full well what you did. I saw you and Sjin, and don't deny it!" Suddenly, I saw something flash in his eyes, and his whole demeanour change.  
"Alright, I won't. But you were the one who stormed off and hasn't talked to me since - I thought you'd broken it off with me! What else could I do?"  
Oh, this was bad. He wasn't supposed to do this, wasn't supposed to realise. I was rendered speechless. He had me, and he knew it. Thinking fast, I replied, "Oh, I dunno - called me? You knew I didn't want to make our relationship public yet! But you just had to go and fuck it all up, didn't you?"  
"Look, I'm sorry. If it means anything, I was only going with Sjin because I was upset about you."  
I could see a smirk tugging at the edges of Lalna's lips, and I knew I had to stop this before I lost the battle completely. "Lalna, that counts for nothing and you fucking know it! If I ever see your face again, it'll be a thousand years too soon." With those words, I slung my bag back over my shoulder and left with as much dignity as I could muster.

"Pretty good show you put on there," a familiar voice said behind me as I made my way home.  
"Yeah, we're turning this week into a real drama for the masses, huh?" I replied sarcastically, looking sideways at the blond beside me.  
"At least it's a change from the norm."  
I stopped walking, glared at him and I said, "You completely messed up my plan, you know that? Now the entire school's going to be watching us closer than ever. If you'd have kept your Notch-damned mouth shut, it would've been finished."  
"Ah, but there was one simple flaw with your plan, Xephos." Lalna stated, smirking. "Why on Minecraftia would I cheat on you?"  
I opened my mouth to retort, but then his words registered in my mind. He laughed at my shocked expression, winked and turned to walk away. All I could do was stare at his retreating figure and wonder why, all of a sudden, my stomach was filled with butterflies.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys, it's me again. This took hella fortnight to write, in between my other fics and school (you get the idea)... So sorry about that, and to make up for it - long chapter is long! 3,258 words, I hope I'm forgiven ;)**

**"Hey,** Lomadia," I greeted the blonde as she was sorting the books in her bag. She looked up, saw me and smiled.  
"Hi, Xephos. Sorry 'bout you and Lalna. I wasn't there, but I heard it was big." She seemed genuinely concerned.  
"Oh, yeah. Actually, it's sort of about Lalna that I wanted to talk to you. See, all my phone contacts got deleted last night, and I don't want to talk to him, I just want to know when it's him texting me, so I was wondering if you had his number with you being friends and all." I took a deep breath, refilling my lungs after the mini-speech.  
She smiled. "Sure, I have his number." She dug into her pocket, fished out her phone and reeled off the number. Writing it on the palm of my hand, I thanked her and left. However, there was something off - I'd had a crush on Lomadia for quite a while, and normally whenever she spoke to me I got all tongue-tied and my stomach started somersaulting. But not this time. This, paired with the feeling I got when Lalna had winked at me yesterday, was beginning to worry me. I had to get this situation sorted, one way or another.

**Thursday** night, I decided to call Lalna. I hadn't seen him at all since Wednesday after school, not even in class. Typing the number carefully, I listened to the dial tone, drumming my fingers against my thigh. Suddenly, there was a click and then Lalna's voice crackled through the speaker.  
"Who is this?"  
At the sound of his voice, I let out a breath I wasn't aware I'd been holding. "Hey, Lalna. It's Xephos. Where were you today?"  
I heard him laugh. "Miss me, did you?"  
I snorted and replied, "Don't flatter yourself. I was just curious."  
"Of course you were," he said, a knowing tone in his voice. "Wanted to check up on your boyfriend?"  
I laughed. "Don't you mean ex? I dumped you, remember?"  
"Oh yeah..." He hummed. "Take me back, Xeph! I'm still in love with you!"  
As he called me 'Xeph', my mouth dried up and my stomach filled with fluttering - I really liked the way it sounded in his voice. Swallowing hard, I tried to get my words flowing again, but to no avail.  
"Um, Xephos?" His worried voice came through.  
"I'm still here," I said quietly.  
"Good." He sounded relieved. "I was beginning to wonder..."  
"Lalna, I -why did you kiss me?" I blurted, then slapped my free hand over my mouth. Where the hell had that come from? "Sorry, I didn't mean-"  
"It's okay," he interrupted. "If I'm being honest, it's because I wanted to mess with you. I wanted to show that I could get one over on someone like you."  
Closing my eyes, I sighed. "Oh," I mumbled.  
"And because you're pretty cute when you're annoyed."  
My eyes snapped open. "What?!" My voice broke awkwardly. I'd never for a second thought he could actually LIKE me; yeah, it was no secret he was bi, but ME? Wait - was I seriously considering this? Did I like him? The questions were circling my head, but through the haze I heard Lalna's voice once more.  
"...but yeah, whatever. It doesn't matter."  
I kind of wanted to know what he'd been talking about, but I was too embarrassed to admit how much he affected me. Instead, I just hummed non-committally.  
"Are you okay, Xeph?" Again with the concern.  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just - I've got to go, alright? I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Yeah, see you then," he said easily.  
"Bye..." I said quietly, but he had already hung up. I didn't like what I felt towards Lalna - mainly because I didn't understand it. Scrubbing my hands over my face, I curled my knees up under my chin and reached for the novel I was currently reading. If fiction couldn't distract me, nothing could.

**Finally** Friday, and Lalna was still AWOL. I realised I'd never actually found out why he wasn't in school during our conversation yesterday, and so spent the rest of the day speculating. He hadn't sounded ill or anything, so what could it be? Suddenly, the bell rang for the end of the day, breaking my reverie. Exiting the classroom and entering the flow of students in the corridors, I slipped my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. /One new message/. I opened the text, recognising the number as Lalna's.  
/come to mine after school. im going to tutor you in science so we don't fail ;P 133 redd street/  
I rolled my eyes, smiling slightly. It didn't look as if I had much choice, really. Sending a quick text to Mum telling her I'd be late home, I set off towards Lalna's. I knew he lived in one of the posher areas of Mistral - everyone knew his parents were rich. His father was a top researcher in some field of science or another, and his mother was one of those artists who was payed millions for a few splotches of paint on a canvass. To me, it seemed like an odd match somehow.  
Redd Street wasn't far from school, only a five or six minute walk, and I wandered along the pavement, observing house after expensive house. Every one had a perfectly manicured lawn and flowerbeds that were full with all kinds of bright colours. I kept walking until I spotted the number 133 in brass on one of the garden gates. Flicking the latch, I walked along the path, gravel crunching under my boots. I stepped up to the green front door, and hesitated a moment before knocking against the wood, loud enough for someone to hear in the large house.  
I felt slightly out of place in my red hoodie, striped tee and skinny jeans, it was like I should've been wearing a suit or something. Before I could get too uncomfortable though, the door swung open, Lalna standing in the hallway on the other side.  
He smiled. "Got my text, then?"  
I raised an eyebrow. "No, I was passing by and decided to drop in," I said sarcastically.  
"In that case," he replied, "Welcome to my humble abode." He gestured for me to enter, and I walked in. Noticing the cream carpets on the floor, I toed off my boots and left them on the mat along with my satchel. I looked up, and saw the he had disappeared, but I could hear his voice coming from somewhere to my left.  
"Notch, I'm starving. You want anything to eat, Xeph?"  
Following the sound, I found myself in a spacious kitchen. Lalna had his head in the fridge and I could hear jars and stuff being moved around. My eyes flickered about, taking in my surroundings; out of habit, I pulled my fingers back until they clicked, each in turn. At the noise, Lalna stood up straight and looked over his shoulder at me. "Ham sandwich?"  
I shrugged, not wanting to use my voice in the cavernous room - houses shouldn't echo. I walked over to the island as he turned back to the fridge, pulling out ham, salad, and a jar of mayo. The fridge door fell shut as he retrieved a loaf of bread from the counter. He dumped the food on the island, the other side from me, then he pulled two plates from a rack on the wall, and a knife from one of the numerous drawers, bumping it with his hip to close it. I chuckled softly as he began assembling the sandwiches for us, and his hands paused momentarily as his eyes flicked up to look at me through his fringe. "What's so funny?" he asked, returning to the food.  
"You look like you do this a million times a day," I told him.  
"Well, I do kinda like cooking, actually," he said, sliding a plate towards me.  
"Huh." I caught the plate and picked up the sandwich. "Would never have pictured you as the cooking type." I took a bite as he poked his stomach.  
"Really?" He asked, tearing his sandwich in half. He stacked it together and took a huge mouthful. Dropping my food, I laughed at his face; he looked like a chipmunk. "What?" He said, mouth still full.  
"Ew, man, that's gross! I don't wanna see your half eaten food!" I snorted in mock-disgust.  
He swallowed, grinning. "I don't know what you mean," he replied innocently.  
"Yeah, right." I picked up my sandwich, took a bite, and chewed thoughtfully. "Y'know, this isn't half bad," I remarked.  
"Don't sound so surprised!"  
"Hey, no offence meant!" I shrugged again.  
"Does that mean I should cook for you more often?" He smirked as I blushed faintly.  
"Well, technically, you haven't /cooked/ for me, as such."  
"So is that a yes?"  
I sighed. "Sure, why not." I took the last bite of sandwich and slid the plate back - he'd already finished his, and was watching me. Swallowing, I said, "So, your text mentioned you were going to tutor me or something...?"  
His eyes lit up. "Yeah, science! C'mon, all my stuff's in my room, and my notes will be better than yours." He moved around the counter towards me. "No offence, but you're pretty crap at Chem as far as I could tell." He grinned and winked, putting his hand on the small of my back to get me walking. As much as it was weird to admit, I liked the contact, and was slightly disappointed when his hand fell away. Shaking my head, I walked under the arch back into the hallway and towards the staircase, letting Lalna take the lead. "Grab your bag, too. You might need it," he told me, turning on the stairs to wait as I went and retrieved my bag. I bent down to pick up the strap when he called, "You have a nice butt, has anyone ever told you?" I jolted upright, back ramrod straight. My face was bright red, I could feel it. I turned slowly and crossed the floor, stopping at the bottom step. Without looking at him, l said quietly, "No-one before you, no."  
"Well, I thought you ought to know," he replied nonchalantly, and then I was looking at his feet as he came back down the stairs. My eyes travelled up his body until they reached his face. He was grinning, one corner of his lips pulled up as he offered me his hand. "Come on, Xeph. You're not gonna learn much stood there." I hesitated - did I want to do this, or should I just go home? "I don't bite, y'know!" He chuckled. Giving in, I put my hand in his, and then he pulled me up the stairs and along the corridor before stopping in front of a plain wooden door. "Ok, so this is my room." He gave the door a gentle push and it swung open. I stepped into the room, and he let go of my hand which allowed me to go and stand in the middle of the floor. Looking around somewhat in awe, I whistled lowly through my teeth.  
Every available space on the wall was taken up by sketches, and even then there were sheets of paper strewn over the desk and spilling onto the carpet. There were people, city scenes, and weird and wonderful designs for everything from weapons to prosthetic limbs - all drawn to perfection. There was one in particular, though, that caught my eye. It was a huge black dragon with luminous purple eyes - the Enderdragon.  
I walked over to it, almost transfixed. I never even really knew Lalna could draw this well. There must be lots of things I don't know about him, I suddenly thought. But, if I was being honest with myself, I wanted to learn every last detail about the guy. I wanted to know what music he liked, why he wore those goggles, what he looked like when he woke up in the mornings...

Oh.

Oh Notch.

_You've fallen for him, Xephos. You've fallen for Lalna and you've only just realised._ But before I could explore this new revelation any further, a snapping of fingers brought me back to reality.  
"Earth to Xephos, anybody there?"  
I blinked a couple of times, shaking my head a little. "Yeah, I'm here."  
"Dude, you spaced out for like a minute, I wasn't even sure you were still breathing! Don't do that!"  
I stuck my tongue out at him. "You can't tell me what to do!"  
"Yes I can, I'm supposed to be your mentor." He said, in a 'so there' kind of way.  
"Ugh," I groaned. "Chem's /boring/. Now this," I gestured to the walls of art, "This is awesome."  
I took a couple of deep breaths as he studied me; the nervous feeling was worse now I knew what was causing it.  
"Tell you what," he said after a moment. "If you work on your Chemistry, I'll help you with it -" I pulled a face, but he continued, "- and I'll draw you something. It's going to be a surprise, though."  
I thought about it for a second or two, and it seemed fair. Top scientist in our year helping me with the work, and I got a souvenir to take home.  
"Fair enough," I agreed lightly.  
"Awesome." He smiled happily at me, and I couldn't help but return it. "Yeah, so just take a seat anywhere and start answering questions. If you're stuck on any, I'll help you."  
I dragged my bag across the floor towards his double bed and fell back gracelessly onto the blue duvet, staring at the ceiling. I could hear Lalna rattling around and muttering under his breath across the other side of the room. Curious, I propped myself up on my elbows so that I could watch him. He was stood with one arm braced on his desk, the other rifling through a drawer of stationary. Sighing, I pulled my textbook and stuff out of my bag and began reading through the tasksheet. I adjusted my position on the bed so that I was leaning back against the pillows and headboard. I was puzzling over an answer, tapping the end of my pen on my teeth, when I felt something press against the mattress from the side. I looked down to see Lalna sat on the floor, his back to the bed, legs pulled up slightly to create a work surface on which his sketchbook was resting. At this angle, my view of what he was drawing was blocked, which he'd probably done by design - he did say it was secret, after all. His head was close to my hand, bent forwards in concentration. I watched him for a couple of seconds, and found myself wanting to touch his hair. I pulled a face at myself; I needed to concentrate. Turning my attention once more on the work in front of me, I kept losing focus, distracted by the other boy. At least last time this happened he was actually /trying/, I thought. Then I got an idea - how about I pay him back for Monday morning? Smiling determinedly, I began playing with the ends of his hair. His hand hesitated for a second, but then it was back to sweeping across the paper. I bit my lip to suppress a snigger and buried my hand in the blond mess, making a couple of bits stand on end. This time, his pencil stopped completely and he turned his head slowly to look up at me.  
"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to make me screw this up." He raised an eyebrow and gestured to the paper as I looked away innocently.  
"Now why ever would I do that?"  
He hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps to avoid doing science? You've already missed Chemistry once this week..." He trailed off, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully at me.  
"What?" I questioned, somewhat indignantly.  
"You're in denial," he replied accusingly. "You like me - that's why you ran!"  
I could feel a blush slowly creeping up my face at his sudden (and accurate) verdict. "No, it's not that, it's..." I struggled to finish, and he grinned evilly.  
"Liar!" He laughed, poking me in the ribs. I yelped - not good. "Ha, no way! You're ticklish, aren't you?" Sketchbook forgotten, he got up and on to the bed and began tickling me, no mercy. I could hardly breath, trying to swat his hands away as they danced over my sides, until I gasped out, "Okay, okay, stop!" He paused, waiting. "So maybe I like you," I mumbled, regaining my breath.  
He was leaning over me, poised to pounce again. "What was that? Didn't quite catch it..." He smirked.  
I punched him lightly on the chest. "You heard me perfectly well," I said, avoiding his gaze. He dropped so that he was leaning on his elbow, face even closer to mine than before, and laid his other hand on my cheek.  
"Look at me, Xeph." His voice was quiet, and I couldn't help but turn my head. I felt myself blushing slightly, he was watching me with an odd gleam in his eyes. "I like you as well. A lot more than I think I've ever liked someone before..." There was an unmistakable tone of sincerity in his words, and I swallowed, nervous once more.  
Slowly, as if asking permission, he closed the gap between us and pressed his lips to mine, but unlike the first time I didn't pull away. Instead, I wrapped my arm around his waist, pulling him down and deepening the kiss. He carefully relaxed, letting his weight press against my right side, and I hummed contentedly. I felt his lips curve into a smile, then he pulled away. Resting his forehead against mine, the hand on my cheek moved down to my neck, his fingertips slipping under the collar of my t-shirt. "I think I love you," he said softly, stroking my jaw with his thumb. I closed my eyes and smiled, leaning into the touch.  
"I think I love you too." I admitted, and oddly, it felt as if a weight on my chest had been lifted. We stayed like that for a few minutes, the only movement being his caress.  
This was pretty new to me, the concept of affection - my parents weren't the most /loving/ in the world, and the only other relationship I'd been in was when I was 7.  
Without warning, my phone began to ring, making us both jump slightly. Opening my eyes and sighing, I reached back to get it, but Lalna beat me to it, pulling it out of my back pocket and hitting the /answer/ button. "Hello?" I couldn't hear who was on the other end of the line, but Lalna was smirking slightly. "Yes, he's fine, he's here with me..." He listened to the voice for a few moments, then locked eyes with me as he said, "Who am I? Well, I'm Xephos's boyfriend." He pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed the end call button, his emerald eyes still trained on me. "That was your mother. She wondered where you were; I don't think she expected you'd be gone this long."  
"You... You told my mother you're my boyfriend," I said a little breathlessly.  
Oh shit.


End file.
